tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111449.post-1136575120330359212006-01-06T11:04:00.000-08:002006-01-06T11:22:57.203-08:00The Birth Plan "Jinx"I participate as a online helper on the <a href="http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hypnobabies/">Hypnobabies yahoo group</a>, and yesterday one of the members reported hearing the following as part of her hospital tour:<br /><br />"...birth plans are jinxed here so think twice about bringing one."<br /><br /><script><!-- D(["mb","opinion, the notion that "women who have birth plans don\'t get what<br />they want" is a sort of half-truth that can be accounted for by<br />several factors:<br /><br />1. The majority of women who have birth plans want less- or<br />non-interventive births. One only needs to look at hospital<br />intervention rates to see where the problem lies - with standard<br />maternity care, not the birth plan.<br /><br />2. The beliefs of the nurses have a tremendous effect on the outcomes<br />of births they attend, which can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of<br />sorts if the nurse believes that "birth plans never work out". I<br />think this belief also reflects the fact that hospitals are accustomed<br />to, and generally prefer to have, highly compliant patients who don\'t<br />bring a list of requests with them upon admission.<br /><br />3. In a small number of cases I do see women who\'s birth plans are a<br />reflection of their tremendous need to control a birth environment<br />that they perceive to be hostile. In this case, as we know, fear can<br />indeed derail a birth and ideally she would choose another birth<br />setting or care provider.<br /><br />All of that said, all of my doula client prepare birth plans and the<br />vast majority go on to have unmedicated births. In fact, after my<br />first Hypnobabies birth, the postpartum nurse was wheeling my client<br />to her new room and when she saw the chart said, "Most women who have<br />a birth plan end up with a c-section." I kindly pointed out that my<br />client got everything on her plan, just as she wanted. So don\'t be<br />deterred from making your wishes known!<br /><br />Dana Watson (now Dana Kunze I guess, wow that looks wierd)<br />Certified doula and Hypnobabies instructor<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />______________________________<wbr>______________________________<wbr>____________<br />______________________________<wbr>______________________________<wbr>",1] ); //--></script>Sadly, this a common perception among some hospital staff. In my opinion, the notion that "women who have birth plans don't get what they want" is a sort of half-truth that can be accounted for by several factors:<br /><br />1. The majority of women who have birth plans want less- or non-interventive births. One only needs to look at hospital intervention rates to see that unplanned interventions are overwhelmingly the result of modern maternity care, not the presence or absence of a birth plan.<br /><br />2. The beliefs of the nurses have a tremendous effect on the outcomes of births they attend, which can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts if the nurse believes that "birth plans never work out". I think this belief also reflects the fact that hospitals are accustomed to seeing highly compliant patients who don't bring a list of requests with them upon admission.<br /><br />3. In a small number of cases I do see women who's birth plans are a reflection of their tremendous need to control a birth environment that they perceive to be hostile. In this case, fear can indeed derail a birth and ideally she would choose another birth setting or care provider.<br /><br />All of that said, all of my doula client prepare birth plans and the vast majority go on to have unmedicated births. In fact, after my first Hypnobabies birth, the postpartum nurse was wheeling my client to her new room and when she saw the chart said, "Most women who have a birth plan end up with a c-section." I kindly pointed out that my client got everything on her plan, just as she wanted. So don't be deterred from making your wishes known!Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09906508308421944287noreply@blogger.com